the kids'll blow dandelion fuzz

[eviscerates]

WHO: The Righteous Snow Teams & anyone who wants to watch (and laugh, and judge.)
WHAT: A GIANT SNOW FIGHT.
WHEN: 13th July or whatever the IC equivalent is.
WHERE: In the valley near Skyhold.
NOTES: ooc post 1 and also ooc post 2. The snow fight itself is closed to those that signed up, but the observation/chilling afterwards stuff is open. No warnings to add here, please put any that come up in the subject lines!

Also we have room for one more last minute sign up!

Wrap up warm! It probably goes without saying that certain medical personnel will be less than sympathetic to those who come to them with colds after this.

The valley near Skyhold has never really completely defrosted, given how high up they are in the Frostbacks, and Adelaide's students have found themselves working with an environment very receptive to the reintroduction of cold, even in the summer months.

The battle field is impressive. Each of the six teams has their own fortress, forming a rough circle on a thick blanket of snow. Each fort has one flag flapping over all others, the only one each has that cannot be stolen (or, at least, would be very challenging.) Their other seven flags are considerably smaller, and where they are depends entirely on how the team opts to defend them. The vast majority of the snow is white, but there are generous patches within and around each fort that matches that Team Fort's colour. Each fort is a little different, but comes with a catapult build inside it, and scattered around the field are large snow drifts, some battering rams, and a trebuchet. (No trebearchet, sadly. We can always dream.)

Every team member is given a sash of their team colour, and a round wooden shield that is so padded that hurting someone with it would actually be quite an accomplishment.

Far enough away to be spared the fighting, but not to entirely escape the chill that has been renewed in the valley, are some benches. There is warm cider and some food being served, and people are welcome to come and watch (and laugh, and judge) and/or hang out with the noble warriors once the fight has wound down.



Recap of OOC & IC Info;

ADELAIDE	BLACKWALL	CASSANDRA	MERRILL	NORRINGTON	OBI-WAN
violet	apricot	seafoam	raspberry	goldenrod	periwinkle
Andra	Zevran	Eirlys	Sabine	Sadira	Vasran
Alistair	Samouel	Church	Ruby	Clarke	Anders
Cosima	Rydia	Korrin	Martel	Mal	Aleron
Daenerys	Cullen	Sherlock	Ciri	Hermione	Ingrid
Bellamy	Kas	Aveline	Bruce	Taashath	Katniss
Pel	Ellana	Velanna	Lexa	Cyril	Merrick
Anakin	Jeannot	Emma	-	Val	Kirk

Plus Teren as a wildcard and liferiner. No other wildcards on the field!

IC-ish RULES AND STUFF.
1. NO WEAPONS, NO MAGIC.
Assume there is unlimited snow - some dyed to match team colours - so there are snowballs galore! Every person also gets an extremely well padded round shield as a chance to defend themselves. Don't use the shield as a weapon, pls and ty.

2. FLAAAAGS.
Each team gets seven flags that match their team colour. The IC goal is to capture as many flags as you can, but OOCly this is flexible and timey wimey and you don't need to worry about keeping track of flags bc who has time for that?

3. NO VIOLENCE.
Or, more accurately, no going out there to hurt people - it is a snow fight and there is siege equipment, let's not kid ourselves. That said; no tackling anyone smoller than you. If you hurt someone, apologise and don't be an ass. Don't make an NPC referee come after you.

4. BASICALLY JUST HAVE FUN.
Characters can't be eliminated unless they're being a big jerk, but no one wants that to happen because friendship is magic, or something. If it's fun and its awesome then odds are it's totally fine, unless it'd put a character in danger.


There will be an IC prize for winning, which will be ICly due to happen after Orlais since that opens up so soon after the snow fight.

A quick recap on how the winners will be determined OOCly - in three weeks time I will do a tally of points based on comment count and tagging around done per team. Three weeks will hopefully allow everyone a chance to dive in even if unexpected RL things happen, as they are wont to do, and not put on too much pressure with the Orlais plots opening up.


How to get points:
1. Open starters! Every team will get 2 points per team member that posts an open starter.

2. Tag around! Every team will get 2 points every time a team member tags a new person. (If character A tags characters B, C & D they will get 6 points total for tagging around - three different threads with character A and character B would still only result in 2 points.)

3. Keep threads going, hop around and have fun! Every comment by a team member will be worth 1 point. (Multi-comment responses ie. one tag split over two or more comments will still only count for 1 point.)

4. Be hilarious, do something awesome, idk persuade me that something is worth an extra point. NO SERIOUSLY, TELL ME I love excuses to reward people for puns and/or being absurd.

5. IC rule breaking may result in points being taken away because how rude.

Comments

Taashath | Team Golden Rod | OTA

[quietblade]

Being the biggest person in the entire snow war, Taas was not allowed to tackle anyone and therefore some people might think he was fairly safe to avoid. The fact that he couldn't hear any attacks from behind also helped with that underestimation part... but he had tricks up his sleeves.

The Friendly Giant | Teammates

All the tackle banning and deafness aside, it didn't mean that Taas couldn't do what he was bred to do - conquer. Being a big, massive shield for his teammates to hide behind, he continues forward in utter hails of snowballs to get those flags.

By the time he's toppled by snow, his team should be able to go grab whatever they needed and run off.

The Still Friendly But-Technically-Your-Enemy Giant | Enemy Teams

Taas might not be allowed to tackle anyone, but he can make pretty damn big snowballs and has a long range with those strong arms. He's scooping up and hurling snowballs with a big grin, and smiles just as much when he's hit right back.

While he tries to always have a teammate at his back, it's still possible to sneak up on him and shove snow down his pants. Just because.

All Is Fair In Love And War | Cyril

Cyril and the warrior seem to work very well together, communicating over the battlefield in short sign. Most of the time, it's the elf the qunari has watching his back, and he makes sure to shield him from the worst barrages.

"So, do you want me to throw you like that Dalish girl?"

Wildcard!

[serannas]

Taas is a huge target. So much so that even Ellana's bad aim doesn't matter, and she pelts him with several balls in quick succession. The only problem is figuring out how to get around the massive wall that is Taas to get inside his fort. Maybe she can just be speedy about it? So she darts forward, trying to flank him.

[quietblade]

The snowballs are expected, but not how fast she is. Taas isn't built for speed at all, so he's far too late to catch her. Instead he has to run after her into the fort, trying to hit her with his massive snowballs as she goes for the flags.

[serannas]

She squeals and shrieks as she goes, flying into his fort with heart pounding. It looks the same as all the other forts, so she rushes for the first flag and grabs it. The trouble is getting back out with it.

[quietblade]

Getting back out was not going to be easy, now that Taas was on high alert and blocking the exit to the fort. Having grabbed an armful of snowballs, he's armed and ready to make her into a little snow elf if she dared show her face.

[mythalenaste]

Short legs don't run fast enough to avoid everything. At some point, Pel winds up covered in snow, first looking shocked, then pissed. But not her usual pissed. This is pissed with a vengeful grin. She's not allowed to use magic to even things out, so she flings herself bodily at him, arms circling his neck, knees drawn all the way up so she can hit him above his center of gravity.

[quietblade]

Again, Taas isn't quite prepared for quick elves and he has a necklace of Pel all of the sudden. The added weight isn't exactly something he couldn't handle, but she has enough momentum to make him stumble to his knees in the snow, reaching his hands up to pull her off himself.

"Oh no, it's a snow elf!"

[mythalenaste]

She did it. She knocked down the largest person on the field.

She is unstoppable.

Beaming, she grins up at him, too proud of herself to stop him from dislodging her.

[quietblade]

When his gentle pulling doesn't dislodge her, he grabs a handful of snow instead, threatening to smoosh it all over Pel.

DEATH FROM ABOVE

[ombranera]

Zev may not be the most skilled at traversing snowy terrain, but he can leap and he can tackle with the best of them. Large as Taas is? He has taken larger. With, well, lethal intent on account of their being giants and ogres BUT there's a soft warning whap of snow from his first ball thrown before he makes the jump, flying through the air to curl about Taas' shoulders like a cat.

[quietblade]

The snowball warns him enough to turn slightly, snow ready in his hands - and then there was a Zevran around his shoulders. Laughing at the sneak attack (and glad he didn't swat the elf off on instinct) he instead takes all the snow he had in his hands and mushes it on his new living scarf.

"Think you can take me, kadan?"

[ombranera]

"Ah, we both know well I can take you, Uragano-" He cuts off with a crackling laugh, squirming around to tuck himself against Taas' chest. "-and how much you enjoy it when I do!"

The battlefield probably is not the best place for lover's talk but when an opportunity such as this presents itself? How can he not!

[quietblade]

Taas opens his arms a bit so that Zevran can tuck himself in and leech some warmth. Chuckling at the elf's reply, he leans down to kiss the top of his head. "I certainly do."

The next moment, he's trying to grab his lover and throw him into the nearest snowbank. This was the rally cold version of foreplay battle, after all.

[el_tybs]

He knows better than to tackle Taas. Mainly because that would do nothing, especially on his own, and that would only put him within closer shot.

No, for this Sam sticks to the snowbanks and watches until Taas' back is turned before pelting the warrior with a couple snowballs before ducking back down.

[quietblade]

The snowballs hit his wide back pretty harmlessly, and he turns around to repay the attacker with his own... only to see nothing. That has him defensive at once, and he grins a little bit while raising his padded shield.

Who was sneaking around in the snowbanks?

[el_tybs]

Well it worked. The fact that a large snowball wasn't flying at him now meant that it had.

Now what? He hadn't thought that far in advance. Crap.

He can hear Taas moving around, so ever so quietly he tries to continue crawl behind the snowbank, hoping to get behind a blind spot or something. Run, or another hit maybe? He'll see in a moment.

[eviscerates]

"Oh n--"

See, she was doing doing really well, but then there was Taas, and despite dodging a number of snowballs or blocking them, there was no avoiding that giant one hurled her way. She keeps the yellow flag she's holding tightly bunched in her fist, even as she tries to shake herself and clamber her way out of the snowdrift she's toppled into and the pile of snow Taas just buried her with.

Random team assignments was fun, but she really, really should have put him on Team Raspberry.

[quietblade]

Taas didn't always have the best of luck with projectiles, being more used to close combat... but he had hit Ruby straight on with a snowball bigger than her head. It made him kind of proud, really. "Hah, got you!" He cheers, grabbing another mass of snow to threaten her with.

"Release the flag or suffer~!

[eviscerates]

"If I was being difficult," and Ruby Lucas is never difficult, obviously, "I would say I'm already suffering."

However, she is also trying to shake snow out of her shirt, and failing miserably. Why this? She looks at Taas, and the flag, and debates just how much more snow she can endure trapped in her clothes, dignity be damned. "Are you sure you really want the flag? What about a nice bottle of schnapps?"

This is weak bargaining.

[bookish_lioness]

While Hermione isn't the smallest person playing in this snow war by any means, she's certainly smaller than many of the others, especially the giant qunari who, thankfully, happens to be on her team. She doesn't mean to use him as a shield, but the few times he's happened to catch her diving behind him when the barrage of snowballs started, he doesn't seem to mind.

Or, at least, he's too busy pelting their enemies back to really just push her away, if he really wants to. But given how much he seems to be smiling through all this, Hermione figures it wouldn't hurt to use him as cover as they get closer and closer to one of the enemy forts. If he can keep them distracted, maybe she can make a mad dash and grab a flag without getting frostbite in the process.

[quietblade]

Oh, he's more than happy to be her shield, even reaching out to block snowballs heading her way with the padded one. Taas is easy to hit but damn hard to stop, so he's pretty much plowing his way through the entire battlefield with Hermione.

As they move closer to the enemy fortress, he's taking heavy snow 'damage' and gently kneels a bit and puts his shield arm around her - both so he can speak to her and to shield her more effectively. "Think you can get a flag if I distract them?"

[bookish_lioness]

For all of their intimidating appearances, Hermione's found that she quite gets along with qunari, and she can get used to having friends who are much bigger than her and willing to act as a shield. She's still a little uncertain when he puts his arm around her, given that they don't know one another that well, but so long as he isn't planning on scooping her up and flinging her into one of the enemy fortresses, she likes to think she'll come out of this all right.

At his question, she cracks a small smile and offers him a nod, looking towards the fort to look at the relative position of the closest flags. "Just don't let them take you down before I get back. I'll need you to cover me, or else I'll probably never make it back to our fort."

#2

[universal_charm]

One such snowball lands a hit on Kirk - right in his face, as it is. The force of it sends him stumbling, and he looses his footing in the snow, going ass over heel as it were. He popped back up, shaking his head and looking over to Taas.

"Rude!" he shouted at him and signed it as well for good measure.

See? Your sessions are being put to good use, Taas.

[quietblade]

Taas barks a laugh at the way Kirk goes down and then even louder at the man's signed complaint. Looks like the lessons were sticking!

"Come get it, blue boy!" He taunts cheerfully, smacking his own chest with a hand before grabbing more snow.

[universal_charm]

The insults were always the easiest, or at least the single words were. They were always the most important ones to learn first besides.

"Be careful what you wish for!" he called, rolling a ball of snow and hurling it with a wicked grin, laughing despite the chill on his cheeks. He was going to get you back for that, Taas!